Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Cinnamon-Raisin Rutabagels

The creation of this recipe is a pretty interesting tale. Well, I find it interesting, anyway… I actually came up with the name before I even formulated the recipe itself. I had purchased a very large rutabaga, and only managed to use a portion of it. So, I had all this leftover rutabaga, and I was trying to come up with some new and interesting ways to use it when the name suddenly popped into my head – “Rutabagels!!” I know, I know, I’m just too clever… or too cheesy… or maybe both.

Well, long story short, I tried boiling one of the bagels before I baked them (which is how traditional bagels are made, giving them that dense quality), but after about 10 seconds it began to dissolve in the water. I’m guessing this is due to the lack of gluten, and I actually expected this to happen so I went with my backup plan and just baked them without boiling them first. I thought I would have to make several batches before getting them just right; but to my surprise, they came out just right... golden brown on the outside and moist in the center.

They are a little crumbly which makes them somewhat difficult to slice perfectly in half, but the taste definitely makes up for it. Oh, and the flavor of these bagels is somewhere between sweet and savory; so, you can top them with just about anything. I ate mine topped with some grass-fed breakfast sausage, a little cheese, an egg, and some chopped tomatoes. The raisins in the bagel balanced perfectly with the saltiness of the sausage. Yum! ...I also tried topping them with some homemade almond butter. Also yum!

What are some of your favorite sweet and savory combinations?

Rutabagel topped with sausage, egg, cheese, and tomatoes

Unbaked Rutabagels

Cinnamon-Raisin Rutabagels

Ingredients:

• ½ cup coconut flour

• 1 cup almond flour

• 3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• ½ a medium rutabaga, roughly chopped

• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil

• 1 ½ Tablespoons honey

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup golden raisins

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

In a medium bowl, mix together the two flours, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins.

In a food processor, purée the chunks of rutabaga with the coconut oil and honey until smooth.

Stir the rutabaga purée into the flour mixture until combined. Then, add the eggs, one at a time and mix the dough using your hands (it’s much easier).

Divide the dough into 6 portions. Shape each portion of dough into a bagel shape. (I did this by making little dough patties, then sticking my finger through the center while continuously turning and pressing the dough together. It is little crumbly and difficult to work with, but you usually get the hang of it after the first one. It also helps if you wet your hands between shaping each one.)

As you shape the bagels, lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then, put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Place them in the oven, and bake for 12-14 minutes until the tops turn golden brown. But watch them closely when they hit the 12 minute mark, because they brown fairly quickly.